Boone had a great piece yesterday on Spencer Sanders that asked all of the right questions.

The bottom line is this, no matter where you stand: Cornelius didn’t get a fair shake Saturday after running for his life on nearly every play. Joe Montana would have logged 30,000 steps on his fitbit Saturday trying to complete passes behind the offensive line.

So the better question, rather than why isn’t Spencer Sanders starting? is a more fair one I propose: Could OSU be even a smidge better than it is right now with another QB? Would Spencer Sanders, a Texas All-Star gunslinger with speed to boot, be able to elude the pass-rush and make OSU’s offense more dynamic? And is that upgrade worth it?

After two consecutive home losses — both of which came by the arm (and legs) of other true freshmen in Alan Bowman and Brock Purdy — it’s fair to be curious. [PFB]

Now – Tech and Iowa State were forced to push the freshman quarterback button via Mason Rudolph in 2014. But does that make the results less desirable? Now I’m not saying to jump off the ledge because everyone else is but how is this substantially different than robbing plays or formations from another team?

The beef I have is around the returns on playing a young gun vs a last-year-on-the-roster guy. There’s no great benefit in 2019, 2020 if you win six games with Corndog but there certainly is if you win six with Sanders. And to that point, while it’s a bit overly simplistic, I think I agree with this conclusion:

The most demoralizing thing for Oklahoma State fans, you can't even call this a rebuilding year. You're not building anything with a 5th year senior walk-on quarterback. You're simply losing and wasting a season.

Mike Gundy was quoted considering another great point as the Cowboys schedule passes its midpoint.

The truth is, this looks like a football team that could struggle to get bowl eligible.

“We have to say, ‘Where are the problems?’” Cowboy coach Mike Gundy said. “Are we overestimating what our abilities are in certain areas? Do we need to minimize what we need to do?”

Sounds like soul searching.

“I don’t know about soul searching,” Gundy said, “but I think the first thing we have to do as coaches is say, ‘Who are we?’” [TulsaWorld]

Gosh, this is a fascinating one to consider: who are they?

Some serious high-end talent in Jordan Brailford and Justice Hill. An offensive system capable of producing historically high numbers. A Bronco-busting pass rush capable of sweltering heat.

But it’s also a program heralded for talent development struggling to not get better each week. An aggressive defense seeing green quarterbacks throw everywhere without being frazzled. And oddly enough, A team with an all-world running back and what was thought to be a more-than-capable interior line seeing drives stall out due to getting behind the chains.